Studies 1 to 3
- 1Joseph of Arimathea Asks for the Body of JesusThe last day until the crucifixionMatthew 27.57-58
- 2Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus Place the Body of Jesus in the TombThe last day until the crucifixionMatthew 27.59-61
- 3The Visit of the Sanhedrin's Representatives to PilateThe last day until the crucifixionMatthew 27.62-66
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PER361
Joseph of Arimathea asks for the body of Jesus
Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin and a secret disciple of Jesus, courageously asks Pilate to release the body of the Crucified One. Accompanied by Nicodemus, he arranges a dignified burial in his own new tomb, before the Sabbath begins. This episode, attested by all four Gospels, illustrates the passage from discretion to a public act of faith at the very moment when the closest disciples remain in hiding.
Luke 23.50-56 (King James Version) :And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:(The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathæa, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org -
PER362
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus place the body of Jesus in the tomb
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two members of the Sanhedrin favorable to Jesus, bury his body on Friday, April 1, AD 33, before the Sabbath. Nicodemus brings a large quantity of spices, and Joseph provides his new tomb. Their courageous and public act, carried out according to Jewish rites, gives the Messiah's burial a royal and honorable dimension, marking their emergence from discretion after the crucifixion.
John 19.39-42 (King James Version) :And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org -
PER363
The visit of the Sanhedrin's representatives to Pilate
An episode found only in Matthew, this passage recounts the visit of the Sanhedrin's representatives to Pilate on Saturday morning to obtain a guard for the tomb of Jesus. Fearing a rumor of resurrection, they have the sepulcher sealed. Pilate, a pragmatist, yields to their request. This episode reveals the tensions between the Jewish religious leadership and Roman authority, and directly prepares the account of the resurrection.
Matthew 27.51 (King James Version) :And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org